Hitting back at airlines for refusing to divulge details of airfares and availability of seats in each fare slab civil aviation minister Ajit Singh has said that the companies cannot refuse to provide information as it is in the larger public interest.

Putting to rest the concerns of the airline companies that the move would result in regulation of airfares, the minister assured that the government did not intend to regulate fares even if it came across companies indulging in anti-competitive or predatory pricing. Instead, in such a situation the matter would be referred to the Competition Commission of India.

On January 23, the supreme court had directed airlines to furnish details regarding the number of seats available at each fare level but a final order has not been passed.

Meanwhile, experts have expressed their concerns on the move being implemented.

Speaking to Governance Now Sharan Lillaney, aviation analyst at Angel Broking said, “It is very difficult to get airlines to do this because it will reveal their business model and will increase the risk of rivals copying or misusing it.”

About the chances of the move being implemented, Lillaney said, “It does not seem very likely as the government, in the past, has said a lot of things but not everything has been implemented. Also, it does not make any sense for the government to worry about cartelisation in this sector as it is a loss-making sector.”

Echoing the sentiment, Rajiv Chib, associate director, PricewaterhouseCoopers said that airlines companies should be allowed a certain amount of privacy when it comes to deciding airfares. “That much privacy should be allowed and it would be more ethical to not force the move upon these companies.”

On being asked if the move would impact the attractiveness of the bleeding sector in the country, he replied, “It will not harm the prospects of foreign investment in the sector but this kind of regulatory interference is not desirable as it challenges the basic premise of liberalising the sector.”